


Sun, Sand, and Shiro

by latte_underco



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Day At The Beach, Eventual Romance, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Memes, Pining Lance (Voltron), Sassy Keith (Voltron), Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Surfer Lance (Voltron), Teasing, Walks On The Beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-03-29 05:51:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13920738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latte_underco/pseuds/latte_underco
Summary: Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a familiar face as it neared you, his cheeks full of air supply too. The same biceps you had been admiring mere seconds ago approached you yet again, but this time you had a much better view.





	1. Wear Sunscreen, Kids

Your fawn blonde hair is gently lifted from your back by the summer breeze, and your eyes close as it collides with them, sensitivity hitting you like a wave. The Range Rover you and the paladins had rented for the week continues at a ‘steady’ pace of approximately 70mph down the coast side road. With Lance stood on his seat by the side of you, you both wave your arms crazily in the air as you receive, and ignore, concerned prompts from Hunk to “SIT THE QUIZNAK DOWN OR YOU’RE GONNA FLY OUT THE CAR BACKWARDS!”.  
With Shiro usually at the wheel, the Rover is filled with a calmed silence, maybe a settled hum of conversation. However, with Keith the designated driver for the day, it’s rather filled with screams of exhilaration and the odd terrified yell from Hunk or even Pidge. Of course, that depended on if a sharp corner is turned causing her to be temporarily and unintentionally squished into the corner by Hunk, who’d promptly apologise after. Keith’s reckless driving was overall an adrenaline-inducing treat for all of you, and hadn’t caused any injuries or crashes as of yet, giving you all an excuse to brush off the mum-like comments from Shiro that he’d come out with when deciding on a driver for the day. He’d reluctantly agreed to let Keith drive earlier that morning, but ended up enjoying the ride more than expected, much to the delight of everyone else.  
“IS THIS AS FAST AS YOU CAN GO, KEITH?? MY ABUELA’S 230 YEAR OLD PET TURTLE COULD GO FASTER THAN THIS!” Lance shouted over the commotion of both the wind, and dying banter between Pidge and Shiro.  
“Lance, dO- WOAHH KEITH CHILL” You tried to warn, but not in time for Keith to speed up to at least 90mph- maybe even 100.  
A squeal of excitement ripped from your throat as you took your hands from the air and attached them to the outer edge of the retractable roof, in order to steady yourself. The fact that you and Lance were precariously stood with your top halves outside of the rover seemed to suddenly hit Lance too, as you both came to your senses and ducked back inside.  
“Jeez, Keith, slow down! We’ve got all day to get to the beach.” Pidge called from behind you.  
You’d all been lucky to get the extended rover, which had three rows of seats. Hunk and Pidge occupied the back row, you and Lance took the middle, and Shiro had the passenger seat next to Keith to make sure he didn’t come completely off the rails.  
“We wanna have most the day there, don’t we?” Keith sassed back.  
“Yeah, bu-”  
“Ah, ah, ah! No buts! I’m right, am I not?”  
“Well, yeah.”  
Keith smirked to himself and let out a barely audible noise that sounded like an airy snigger, “Case closed.”  
Pidge folded her arms in a pretend sulk, while you, Lance, Hunk and Shiro sniggered and tried to hold back your laughter at Pidge getting utterly roasted.  
“Daaaamn, Pidge. I can’t believe you just got roasted.” Lance mocked.  
“Yeah, Pidge, how do you feel?” You said, holding your arm out to Pidge’s mouth like an interviewer.  
“Shut up.” She replied, laughing as she batted your hand away.

Around 10 minutes of bonding later, Shiro proudly announced that the section of beach you had planned to go to was just up ahead. Keith smiled, breaking gradually until you were at a crawl, and parked up at the end of the road.  
Everyone stepped out of the car, and the first thing you noticed as you jumped down from the slightly elevated footstep was the sand that flew up into your flip-flop. You grinned. Although sand in your shoe usually sent you round the bend, this was your first vacation with the paladins, and you were way too excited to be brought into a bad mood now. You couldn’t wait to get down onto the beach, feel the hot sand between your toes, and the contrasting cool water against your ankles…

You pull out your sunglasses from the pocket in your dark blue shorts, the intense heat already hurting your eyes. You’d gone in the peak of summer, desperate to make the most of any traces of sun and spend them wisely. Just before exiting the Rover, you’d checked the temperature on the monitor and decided that 32 degree heat was perfect tanning weather, so you eagerly grabbed your teal and cream beach bag from the back of the Rover, intending to lead the way onto the beach. You helped each other pass out bags and towels, and once the boot was empty, Keith slammed the door and locked up, shoving the keys into his duffel bag.  
You started down the sandy slope which led to the coast, a constant grin plastered on your face as you watched wave after wave of aqua blue ocean cascade onto the shore. It was so calming, hearing the gentle splashing of water colliding with sand and knowing you have the whole day to enjoy it.  
Reaching the end of the slope, you gazed around, seeing if the section you were hoping to claim was occupied by anyone else. The area seemed to be much more secluded than the coastline you’d passed on the way up, as there was no one for as far as you could see. Perfect.  
You heard Pidge and Hunk’s voices getting louder behind you, and turned around to see Pidge gallivanting towards the ocean, throwing her rucksack over to the side and awkwardly removing her vest and shorts, revealing a lime green swimsuit. She cheered as she reached the edge of the water, and without hesitation bounded in, dipping her head underwater before slicking her hair back and smiling up to the sky. It made your heart warm just watching her enjoy herself, letting go of everything, freeing herself of stress.  
Hunk huffed behind you, and you spun around once again to see him smiling sweetly as he went to pick up Pidge’s discarded bag and place it with the others’. To your right, Shiro and Keith were laying out towels while Lance stuck multiple umbrellas into the sand, muttering about how he wasn’t planning to get sunburn today, oooh no.  
“I tried to tell Pidge that she should lather up with sunscreen before leaving to frolic in the sea, I really did.” He scolded sarcastically.  
“She doesn’t burn easy, Lance, she told you this.” You remarked, approaching the three of them. “You want some help?”  
Shiro let out a soft grunt as he stood up straight from laying out his own towel, and put his hands on his hips as he studied his handy work. “I think we got it, thanks.” He smiled appreciatively at you and offered to lay out your towel too.

By the time everything was unpacked, and Pidge had emerged from the depths to put on sunscreen (under Lance’s orders), it was 11:26. Shiro, Hunk and Keith were laid peacefully, soaking up the sun, while Lance and Pidge layered up on sunscreen. You were yet to take off your top and shorts, so you hurriedly crossed your arms over the bottom hem of your vest and gripped, pulling it over your head. You were wearing a cute teal bikini that you had no reason not to feel confident in, as it accentuated your subtle curves and showed off just the right amount of cleavage.  
As you were blinded by your top for all of two seconds as you unceremoniously yanked it over your head, you were unable to see that you’d caught a certain someone’s attention while doing so. Though, you were just in time to catch them in the act of staring as you gave your vest a final tug and flung it onto the top of your bag. You made eye contact with Shiro as he looked up; from what you were guessing was your upper chest; for all of a millisecond, before rapidly widening his eyes and averting his vision.  
‘Holy Kalteneker!’ You thought, ‘he watched me undress!’  
You hid the fact that you were freaking out on the inside and started to take off your shorts, attempting to ignore the hint of insecurity you began to feel.  
You weren’t going to lie, you’d always found Shiro attractive, and a small piece of you deep down below was buzzing with happiness that he may, possibly, feel the same way about you. Judging from the expression you saw on his face shortly before he yanked it away, his initial plan was to keep his eyes on you for as long as he could. Thinking about it, that wasn’t the first time you’d caught Shiro staring at you. You remember the odd occasion when he’d steal a cheeky glance, probably thinking you were oblivious to it. Needless to say you were more observant than he though, and you were flattered to know that you were the recipient of one of the fondest smiles you’ve ever seen him give.  
Suddenly being dragged back into reality, you realised you were staring blankly at your bedraggled shorts which you held in your hand.  
“You okay there, [Y/N]? You look a bit… flustered.” Pidge giggled.  
You jumped and looked over to Pidge, who despite wearing a sunhat and glasses had her hand shading her view as she looked up at you.  
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Great, actually!” You replied, and since you weren’t lying you decided to show your enthusiasm by encouraging everyone to join you in the sea.  
“Come on, let’s actually do what we planned to before it gets dark, shall we?”  
Lance let out an amused huff, “Speak for yourself, [Y/N]. I came here to work on my tan, and nothing more.”  
Keith piped up, “Oh, so the whole ‘I can’t wait to wreck you with my surfing skills’ talk wasn’t accurate after all?”  
Hunk and Pidge began laughing at the savage Keith reoccurrence, while Lance glared at Keith.  
“Oh, I thought you would be too scared to actually go through with that.”  
“Funny joke, Lance. Don’t think I’d ever back down from a bet that easily.”  
“Well in that case, let’s see what you got, Mullet!” Lance jumped up from his towel. He ran to grab his surfboard which was propped up against the stone wall situated a few meters behind everyone’s placement of towels and umbrellas. Keith followed; soon close on Lance’s heels. The pair ran back past the remaining paladins and you a few seconds later, surfboards in arms and yelling competitive threats at each other.  
“I’m gonna drown your ass, Mullet!”  
“I’d like to see you try when I’ll already have your head pinned under the water. Although that may be hard getting it to fit, seeing as it’s so big!”  
An uproar of hysterics rebounded through the air and the two continued to race each other down the beach.  
“Since when did Keith become such a savage??” Hunk managed between giggles.  
“He learnt from the best.” Pidge responded proudly, pointing at herself with a single finger gun.  
At this point, you were the only one of the four of you still at the towels who was stood up, but you’d folded over while holding your stomach when Keith came out with the sassy remark he did. Through your persistent sniggering, you looked to the side of you where Hunk and Pidge were also doubled over in fits of laughter. It was only Shiro who was more contained with his reaction. He was still giggling, but most of his focus was on you. He looked at you with almost wonder, probably admiring your laugh as usual. Shiro had a habit of either trying to make you laugh, or making sure his eyes were on you if you were laughing, and it flattered you once more, knowing that he clearly enjoyed watching you have fun. It showed you more of his sweet and gentle side, which was usually hidden away when in most other situations.  
Once he realised you’d spotted him yet again, he didn’t turn his head away quite as quick as last time. There was more hesitation, like he wasn’t afraid to carry on watching you. You sent him a sweet smile before turning your head back to gaze into the glistening water.  
“Come on, we’d better join them before they ‘accidentally’ smack each other with their boards,” you say, interrupting any lingering laughter.

You took a brief look at the others before jogging over to the ocean edge. You caught a glimpse over your shoulder to see them as they trotted after you, Shiro in front and only subtly but noticeably more eager.  
As you reached about a foot deep in the warmer-than-you-thought water, you slowly closed your eyes in pleasure. It was calming, stood with just your feet and ankles submerged. It definitely helped you withstand the now 34 degree heat better than just sitting helplessly in its wake. A soft moan even managed to escape your lips as you leisurely waded deeper, enjoying every moment.  
“[Y/N]! Quiet!” Pidge exclaimed softly, placing a firm but small hand over your mouth, “There’s a child present, we can’t have you moaning in front of poor Shiro!”  
“I should have never told you guys my birthday.” Shiro added with a deep and defeated sigh.

Lance and Keith were riding the waves behind your playful splashing; Hunk was throwing Pidge onto the mesmerising surface of the water you’d paddled deeper in. You’d run back to grab the inflatable planet ring and were now laid atop it, basking appreciatively in the sun. Lifting your head and shading your eyes from the heat, you saw Shiro breast-stroking over to you. You noticed as every muscle flexed in turn, and his biceps tensing with every stroke. He truly had the body of a god.  
He came to stand next to you, treading water softly as he smiled up at you. Then he started to giggle and with that, grabbed his nose and ducked under the surface. You stared on in confusion, but realised too late what Shiro was hinting at.  
A giant wave encased you, catching you off guard due to you facing the beach. Your eyes widened in surprised as you were forced under, but you still managed to gain a small breath of air before sinking to the sea bed. The water was so clear, you were able to see your inflatable being helplessly washed away, towards the shore.  
Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a familiar face as it neared you, his cheeks full of air supply too. The same biceps you had been admiring mere seconds ago approached you yet again, but this time you had a much better view. Shiro was hovering slightly above you, giving you the perfect line of sight of his stomach, and hence, his abs. Holy Kalteneker, if you hadn’t already noticed before (which you hadn’t) Shiro was positively ripped. His six-pack protruded not too grotesquely, but enough to make your mouth water even in the brine of the sea. His ink-black swimming trunks were just low enough so that you could see the slight ‘v’ of his hips, and his white tuft of hair swayed delicately with each thrust from his arms. Damn, this man was going to be the death of you.  
With you more than admiring the beautiful creature before you, you hadn’t noticed how close Shiro now was to you. He’d gotten rid of the balloons that were his cheeks, and replaced them with the corners of his mouth that could have reached the moon with how much he was grinning at you. His smile was precious, it always was.  
His body was now inches from yours. You could feel your heart racing through your chest and your head pounding with heat, despite the cooling liquid surrounding you. His gaze lifted from your eyes to your hair that was flowing about it all directions. He thought it was magical, the way you could effortlessly resemble a mermaid, your expression adorable with curiosity and limbs held tenderly by the water.  
He took this almost intimate opportunity to take your hands from your sides and hold them in his, drawing hesitant circles on the backs of them. After a few moments, he let go and gestured to the surface, clearly running out of breath. You nodded as vigorously as was possible considering your rather inconvenient situation, and followed as he pushed off the sea bed with his feet. Damn you, perfectly normal bodily functions.  
You both rose up to the surface before unconsciousness could overtake you, and panted heavily as you refilled your lungs.  
Stealing a final couple of seconds of staring into each other’s eyes, you set your sights to about 10 meters further out to sea where Lance and Keith were lying on their boards with their backs to the sky. Although they were facing towards the now gradually setting sun, you were convinced they weren’t bothering to be competitive any more, as barely audible giggles and small talk flooded your ears.  
“Pssst!”  
Your head jerked to the left, following the sudden sound Shiro had made. “I think they’re bonding!” He whispered with a shocked, yet ‘it was only a matter of time’ expression smeared smugly on his face.  
You beamed amiably at both Shiro, and then over at the bonding moment you felt honoured to be witnessing.  
Lance was now resting his head on his hands, using his elbows as support. Keith was laid down; his hands overlapped and head resting atop. The two were ogling each other, and you spotted rather quickly that they were being unusually passive, all past behaviour considered.  
“They’re finally learning how to be nice to each other!” You whispered back to Shiro.  
The sun had officially begun to set, a gorgeous orange glow flooding the sky just in front of Lance and Keith. The whole scene was breath-taking. A serene atmosphere to start the long evening ahead, you couldn’t imagine this vacation to be more desirable.

It only took Hunk and Pidge to be little craps in order to officially spoil the moment. 

Presumably when you’d become inattentively spellbound by the sunset, they’d stuck past you and made their way towards the unsuspecting paladins. A short gasp from you brought the attention of the two boys as your eyes set upon a now submerged Hunk and Pidge, directly below the surfboards. Smirks and thumbs-up were sent your way as Lance and then Keith were tipped from their boards. A high-pitched shriek escaped from Lance and a large expulsion of air from Keith as you watched them glumly sink the 3 or 4 meters to the bottom. They folded their arms, and the same unimpressed expression appeared on both their faces as two rear-ends met with the sand of the ocean bed.  
Meanwhile, the culprits of their minor inconvenience (and Shiro) dissolved into uncontrollable fits of laughter.  
“Guys, that was so mean! It was bonding moment part two!” You scolded on behalf of the depressed ocean-dwellers.  
Without warning, the snorting twosome was dragged under by their own victims; only making Shiro laugh louder and you begin to giggle despite your best efforts not to.  
After several playful underwater brawls, the four were finally able to set a truce. But Keith still had vengeance on his mind, and showed it rather obviously through a few attempts at dunking Pidge from behind, only to be stopped by Hunk who was able to easily overpower him. 

A couple of hours of random banter and general boisterousness later and you collectively decided to swim back to the beach. The sky was growing rapidly darker, and a plethora of stars began to fill the stratosphere as you watched on it awe of its finesse. What only annoyed you was that you were practically forced out of the once tepid waters by their developing iciness.  
As the water grew shallower, you took one last dip to slick back your hair, flicking it forward. You then threw it back over your head, making a loud slapping noise as it hit your back, and sending an aggressive spray of ocean water in all directions. That drew several of the paladin’s attentions. You tugged at your bikini top and waltzed onto the beach, but in you realising their sudden absence, you turned back to see why they’d come to a halt. You were met with Shiro’s infected wide eyes and a slightly dropped jaw. Pidge was smirking, fully conscious of the current situation that had the man frozen to the spot.  
“What?” You asked with genuine intent. Pidge’s grin only grew wider.  
“I think you’ve unintentionally caught his attention.” She announced proudly between sniggers.  
Shiro spluttered, realising he was now the centre of attention, and had gained four looks of ‘look at this helplessly lovesick dude’.  
There was a few seconds of awkward silence and sharing glances before Shiro simply grumbled a barely audible, “Jesus almighty.” And began striding awkwardly back onto the beach. Laughter followed him, as the rest of the group, including you, decided to depart the waters.  
The great thing about being friends with these five incredible people was that no situation ever had enough tension to become awkward. It lifted a weight off your shoulders, knowing you could be yourself around them and not have to feel insecure. Of course, that didn’t always apply, especially when one of those people decided to stare you down while you undressed, not to name any names…  
“Come on, it’s getting cold!” You ushered, provoking the others to shake a leg and get dressed.


	2. A Night To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A gorgeous coastal beach, and an exotic meal under the stars. Sounds like a date, right?

Once you’d all dried off, packed up your things, and taken turns hiding behind the wall to get dressed for the evening ahead, you met back at the Range Rover to discuss the plan of action.   
You’d brought a white beach romper as your choice of outfit. It had a strip of transparent, flower patterned lace through the middle which presented your new tan rather nicely, and the fabric below the lace gave a gathered, flowing effect which made it look like a skirt rather than shorts. It was tapered in at the upper chest, and the straps rested gently by the sides of your neck. You’d previously considered if it being so short wasn’t such a good idea, but you knew that the humidity of the night was guaranteed to change you mind. You’d also picked out a pair of caged gladiator scandals which were subtle beige and went up to just below your knee. A seashell decorated sandy bracelet later, and your outfit was pretty much complete. Although your hair hadn’t fully dried, it looked messily styled in the way that the uneven fawn waves cascaded down your shoulders and back, your taupe eye shadow and eyeliner complimenting it, and your pale rose lipstick beautifully contrasting.  
You joined the others outside the front of the Rover, and glanced around in a circular motion in order to take in everyone’s outfits.  
Lance wore a dark aqua shirt with the top two buttons left undone, a pair of dirty white shorts and some azure vans.   
Keith was dressed in a deep red, long sleeved top, of which he’d rolled up the sleeves to uncover the entirety of his forearms, and some faded grey shorts along with bright white Adidas.  
Hunk had a floral Hawaiian button-up paired with bright white shorts, a little longer than Lance and Keith’s, and some matching scandals.  
Pidge wore a smooth, grass-green skirt and a thin white vest with laced hems, and matched it with a pair of light grey converse.  
And last but certainly not least, Shiro had dressed in a short sleeved, ever so slightly see through, tight white shirt, and some pitch black shorts and flip-flops.   
“Okay, so I did some research and found a tapas place called ‘Tapas de Playa’ which is about half a mile up the beach. Everyone up for that?” Shiro asked.  
“Ah, my mama used to make the best tapas! I haven’t had it in years… Count me in!” Lance called from the boot of the Rover where he was stuffing the last of the towels into the trunk. You looked around for everyone else’s answers and only gathered nods, so you confirmed to Shiro that you were all happy with the decision and started walking the half a mile journey down the beach.

During the 15 minute walk, you were showered with compliments on your outfit, a particularly heart-felt one coming from Shiro. Lance seemed disheartened when you in particular picked up on the appealing colour of his shoes.   
“Yeah, I was gonna wear my crocs but Pidge threatened me into not to, otherwise she’d… what was it you said you’d do, Pidge?”  
“I said I’d rip them off your feet and throw them into the ocean for the sharks to eat and crap out, and that I hope they rot at the bottom of the Mariana Trench once they escape from whichever animal’s rectum they end up in. Disgusting things, crocs are.”   
“You have no sense of style, Pidge.”  
“You dead meme, why do you even have crocs??”  
“I bought them as a joke when they first became a meme!”   
“Jesus Christ, Lance.” Pidge was giggling hard, and no longer able to speak. That made three of you, as you and Lance were now also in hysterics. Keith gave you all a disgusted look as you doubled over, and subconsciously began to drift towards the edge of the water in your attempts to carry on walking.  
“Watch where you’re going or you’ll turn into shark bait.” He declared, “Not that I’d mind much about Lance having the same fate as those crocs of his, but I wouldn’t wanna see you and Pidge go to waste.”  
“NOT THAT YOU’D MIND ABOUT ME?” Lance gasped; a horrified expression on his face.  
“WOULDN’T WANT US TO GO WASTE??” You and Pidge chorused.  
Keith laughed dryly and shrugged.  
“Classic Keith.” Lance tutted.

Once you finally arrived at the restaurant, you took a moment to appreciate the décor ‘Tapas de Playa’ had presented. The wall you’d used as a divider when getting dressed before your departure had continued down the beach, and all the way past the restaurant, which was imbedded within it. Small wicker tables and heaters crowded the surrounding beach, and the shabby wooden frame of the entrance to the restaurant merely provided a cut-off point at which to stop gawping at its gorgeousness. It was quite literally a hole in the wall, one with an abundance of fairy lights emitting a soft yellow glow strewn stylishly around the frame. An aura of the most glorious tropics flooded from the open tiki bar which was placed in the centre of the entrance, and a man with rather impressive cocktail mixing skills caught the attention of many as he recklessly threw shiny glasses through the air. At the sides of such bar, the main seating area began. Wicker chairs matching those that occupied the outside sands took up all the remaining space within the restaurant you could see with the view you had. The overall ambience you received from just looking at the exterior resembled that of a romantic beach villa, not a small profit business in the middle of the coast. It was glorious.  
“It’s… gorgeous!” You blurted, unable to contain your inner excitement.  
“Sure is, where’d you find this place, Shiro?” Hunk asked.  
“I looked online; it was in the recommended ‘near you’ section on this website. It’s where I found the very villa we’re staying in.” Shiro informed.  
Lance waved his head from side to side impatiently, “Yeah, yeah, you used the internet. Well done old guy. Now what are we waiting for, your hair to turn black again? Let’s get a table already, I’m starved!”   
The eager boy then proceeded to jog over to the hosts’ station just at the side of the main restaurant. There stood a tall brunette, surrounded by wall-mounted menus and more fairy lights.   
“I know what he’s in a rush for.” Pidge rolled her eyes and stared, unimpressed by Lance’s behaviour.  
Glancing at Keith to observe his reaction, you witnessed as his once happy expression flopped into a disapproving frown. You knew that he knew what Lance’s intentions were, give him a good-looking waitress for the night and he’ll be ordering the entire menu and the woman’s phone number. Keith didn’t seem too enamoured with that thought.  
“I’m gonna go save him from himself. And get us a table while I’m at it. Anyone joining me, or are you just going to stand there and starve?”  
You, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge exchanged glances that all only read one thing; food.

“I’ll tell you what looks good on this menu, steak, corn, and a side of p-“  
“OOOKAY, Mr. Romance, let’s focus on the task at hand.”  
Keith turned his gaze the unimpressed waitress’ way, “Table for six, please. And we sincerely apologise for this sorry excuse for a flirt, yes, he is normally this annoying and yes, he is normally a hassle for us as friends. Please have pity on us.”   
Lance shot Keith an almost comedic shocked expression, his eyebrows furrowed and mouth open like a whale’s. But before he could explode with comebacks, Pidge dragged him away from the situation by the wrist, “Yeah, sorry about him.” She added, giving the waitress a sympathetic look. She merely shrugged and proceeded to explain how it was a common technique often used to get free food, but she was effectively immune as she was, unfortunately to Lance, in a relationship.   
Lance tutted, “Shame. Well if ever doesn’t treat you right, Hun…”  
She giggled, “Sorry to disappoint, loverboy. She is very endearing.” She proceeded to hold up her left hand, revealing a pearly white diamond encrusted ring, “And no offence, but three years of commitment isn’t going anywhere for a lanky sixteen year old male equipped with nothing but a lame pickup line and a dream. Now. Table for six? Right this way.”  
And with that, the brunette swiped six menus from her station and proceeded to walk through the restaurant, waving her hand behind her to encourage your group to follow.  
Lance, needless to say, was rather shocked at what had just occurred. 

Pidge merely cupped her hands around her mouth, stood on her tip-toes, and allowed a loud stream of ‘OOOOOOHHHHH’ explode into Lance’s ear.

Jumping back at Pidge’s action, Lance covered his ear protectively and yelled non-child-friendly language at his peer. Shiro immediately activated Dad Mode, and, covering Lance’s dirty mouth, dragged him through the restaurant. You and the others were trying desperately to contain your giggles. Why did everything always end in a laugh with these people? Oh, yeah. Because they’re the most laughter-inducing gang you know, and you wouldn’t change them for the world.   
Even at his most annoying, you never loved Lance any less.   
Even at his angriest, you never lost your affection for Keith.  
Even at the peak of her smartass mode, you never ignored your love for Pidge.  
Even- wait, Hunk was a cinnamon roll, he never portrayed negative emotions. Even so, you’d always adore Hunk and his… innocent ways.  
And even at his most controlling, oppressive leader mode, you’d never loose sight of your love for Shiro.  
You could never show these people how much you appreciated and valued them as friends, you could never express how loved they were. All that, because no action, no emotion, no words, could describe your love for the paladins. 

Nothing. 

So all you did was contain your feelings, and keep as cool a friend as possible, especially in public areas. It did the job nicely.

You were glad to know the ruckus with the waitress didn’t deter you from having the dinner un-awkward dinner you’d hoped for. The evening started with you being seated at a booth in the far left-hand corner of the restaurant, and a change of waiter to avoid maximum awkward. Oh, and possibly more roasting. The circular booth fitted everyone in with plenty of room to spare, and the ordering (from left to right) went; Hunk, Pidge, You, Shiro, Keith, and Lance. 

Despite the unplanned start, the rest of the dinner carried on in an unusually civilised manner. Once you’d ordered the specifically chosen sharing Tapas platter, a mere twenty minutes of banter filled the gap between that and eating. The new waiters, who Pidge had spotted approaching from half way across the restaurant, placed down multiple silver plates of various foods which had previously been balanced along the lengths of their arms. You yourself had never understood how you could possibly be trained to do perform such precarious acts, especially when under pressure from hungry diners.   
The food covered the entirety of the circular table, everyone absentmindedly leaning backwards to make way for the many arms reaching to place platter after platter. It was a magnificent sight, a feast being presented right in front of your eyes. The dishes held many variations of the Spanish cuisine, calamari, chorizo, anchovies, croquets, and tacos being only a few to choose from. You felt your mouth begin to water as the waiters chorused, “Enjoy your meal!” and walked away, leaving you to feast.   
“Dibs on the tacos!” Pidge called, resulting in an every-man-for-himself. Eager arms and desperate fingers wrapped their way around each other in order to reach their desired food. Lance, despite his height, was forced to stand and lean cautiously over the table to reach his beloved patatas bravas before they were stolen. 

It took you and the paladins the best part of an hour to just about finish your banquet, and even when everyone was full; it couldn’t be helped that you’d pick up just the one more olive. Oh, but that olive turned into a taco, and soon enough, you’d cleared every plate on the table. Greedy gits, the lot of you were.   
Not only did you manage to devour the food, but glasses of wine, bottles of beer, and other forms of alcohol seemed to be piling up on the table quicker than you’d expected. You’d had no intentions of getting drunk, but social drinking lead to enjoying that sweet, sweet feeling of invincibility enough to make you crave more. What made you feel better, though, was that you certainly hadn’t had as much to drink as Pidge and Lance. Pidge’s 18th had passed a few months ago, and she’d been eager to try the intoxicant straight away. But yet again, Shiro’s Dad Mode activated, she had been told to drink with meals instead of risking getting herself admitted to A&E.   
Lance was used to the drink, having had a couple of years’ practice already, but even still he’d managed to overestimate his own tolerance, and subsequently end up face-down in his plate before dessert had even arrived.  
Keith glanced at Lance’s tipsy state, and smacked the back of his head, partly to stop him from snoring in the leftover sauce, and partly because he’d wanted to do that for a while.  
Lance’s head shot up from the impact, the noise still ricocheting around the confines of the booth, and rubbed tenderly where Keith had hit him. His expression didn’t show anger like you’d expected, but the poor boy looked delirious as to what on earth just happened. 

“You can tell he’s had a few just from the fact that he didn’t return the favour.” Pidge slurred, her eyes already dopey with drink.

“And you’ve not? Pidge, we’ve all seen the three empty pint glasses you’ve been ‘secretly ordering’, you’re not sneaky.” Your retort caused Lance to snort obnoxiously and way to loud to be at all appropriate for a public situation. The attention turned to him as he covered his mouth and nose with both hands, grinning rather adorably at his own reaction, and slumped back in the booth, sliding down until his head was barely visible above the table. His giggles were muffled by his hands, but loud enough to draw the attention of a nearby couple who seemed to be enjoying a quiet meal before your booth-full had arrived. 

Dessert arrived, two tiramisus landing in front of you and Shiro, a strawberry cheesecake for Hunk, molten lava cake for Pidge and Lance, and blackberry compote for Keith. You felt the familiar feeling of accumulated saliva form in your mouth as the dishes were set down, and you wasted no time with grabbing your fork and digging the Quiznack in.   
Everybody more or less finished at the same time, and the small talk started up again as Shiro called over the waiter to ask for the bill.  
“Hey, what happened to dessert part two??” Lance asked, genuine intent shrouding his face as he grabbed at Keith’s arm. Keith was taken aback by the action, but despite his efforts to pull away, Lance managed to keep a tight grip on his forearm.  
“Lance, for starters I’m not the one asking for the bill, and second, ‘dessert part two’ isn’t an option. You’ll make yourself throw up if you eat another of those cake things.”  
Lance let go with a frown, and Keith looked immediately guilty. Lance’s eyebrows were ever so slightly furrowed, and his eyes looked wet and glassy. Was he about to cry? He fondled with the hem of his shorts, fingers fiddling gently with the fabric. Keith followed his gaze, concerned at what Lance was undoubtedly planning; he’d known the trickster long enough to know when he was preparing a trick, one that usually worked out in his favour.   
Shiro paid the bill, and Lance’s expression stayed sorrowful as everyone got ready to leave.   
“Lance, are you being serious, is this what alcohol does to you?” Keith asked his as they followed Shiro out of the restaurant.  
“You don’t like me… you won’t let me hold your hand…” Lance’s response shocked Keith, but none the less, he gave a tender huff and took a light hold of Lance’s hand, a blush creeping onto his face. Lance smirked and looked Keith straight in the eyes, “I remember the bonding moment.”

Keith looked triggered as Quiznack.

Ripping his hand from Lance’s, Keith hissed, “Are you serious?? All that time you told me you couldn’t remember and you knew that I’d be annoyed because I though we were putting our rivalry in the past?? And you brushed it off, you didn’t even care how hard that hit me??”

The green and yellow paladins had trailed off down the beach, Hunk most likely trying to keep Pidge from hobbling into the ocean, overcome by her slightly drunken condition. This left you and Shiro walking together. Keith and Lance had struggled to keep up, their argument reducing the size of their steps until they’d come to a halt. Lance was unable to keep himself from giggling, and had doubled over as Keith tried to keep a straight face. His stressed tone didn’t last long, and the two eventually forgave and forgot from what you and Shiro could see.  
The restaurant was soon out of sight, and Pidge and Hunk were merely silhouettes in the distance. Behind you, Lance and Keith were inevitably bonding, and you were determined to let them have their moment to make up for earlier in the day.  
As you made your way back down the beach, you noticed that the once inactive spot lights lining the stone wall were now shining almost blindingly, helping illuminate the stretch of beach in front. The golden sand glimmered in the gaze of the spot lights, and every meter or so, a seashell would appear on the shore. Above your heads, billions of sequin-silver stars shone like scattered moon dust in the dark of the night. The moon glinted as you walked, and it was insane to think that you and the paladins had explored thousands, millions, billions of miles past that one planet. As far as you knew, the infinite abyss that was space contains approximately millions of planets just like the moon, and so many more stars than the average human could imagine. But from earth, they were mere microscopic beacons of hope for the lost souls of the world, and you could all but hope for them to keep the nights aglow, for a long as they live on.

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

You turned you head to look at Shiro. If you had to take a guess you’d say that he’d been focussing on you for a while, as his pupils were blown wide and his mouth was curved into small smile. The icy tuft of hair at the front of this head bounced lightly in the chilly ocean breeze as you steadily strolled along the shore.  
“I still think that it’s fantastical how we’ve ended up together.” You answered.  
“Care to elaborate?”   
There it is. That playful smirk of his that you know all too well, the one that makes you weak at the knees.  
“Out of all the potentially habitable planets in the universe, the six of us just so happened to be part of the same kind, live on the same planet, on the same side of the world… I’m so thankful for that fate.”  
Shiro glanced to the side, his smirk turning into an adorable smile and a faint blush forming on his cheeks.  
“Me too.”  
He then looks back to you, and you notice he’s taking in your full appearance. His eyes drift from yours, down to your lips, your hair, and back to your eyes. You suddenly feel self-conscious, being looked at with such intent and something you couldn’t quite grasp…  
You’d stopped walking all together now; Shiro’s stare too intense and powerful to allow you to concentrate on anything other than him. You had half a mind to cover your face with your hands, turn away, something, as you feel a crimson tint creeping onto your cheeks, but you instead decide to slowly shut your eyes. Your head drifts to the side as you smile, still feeling his hard gaze on you.

“How’d a group of misfits like us end up with someone like you, huh?”

Shiro walks closer to you, and you can feel the powerful heat of his presence begin to grasp at you. As his arm lifts, your heart starts to race. Despite being unable to see him, your many days of training and bonding exercises can come to use as you were able to identify as friend’s presence from a foe’s. It was a searing emotion that made you feel like your insides were aflame, and you feel as though your chest is going to explode. If it weren’t before, your face was definitely a hot shade of scarlet now. His left hand moves to lightly graze your face, and apart from the slight jump you get when you first feel his skin on yours, it’s so tender. It’s then that same hand proceeds to cup your jaw. It’s then that he begins to lift your face until it’s in line with his gaze.  
It’s then that you decide to gradually open your eyes.  
The sight you’re met with is intoxicating in itself, aside from the alcohol you’d had earlier that night. Shiro’s widened eyes are like fire on your face, his pupils greatly overthrowing the grey of his irises. His mouth was slightly agape, his breath slight but steamy against your face.  
“It seems that fate’s on our side.”  
Shiro’s lips are almost on yours, he’s so tantalisingly close that it’s painful. It’s painful that it’s taken so long for you to get to this, painful how slow he’s moving with you when all you want to do is pounce on him. But despite your frustrations, you wouldn’t change Shiro’s gentlemanly ways for the world, as you know that taking it slow is so much better than rushing into something you’ll regret.  
You can’t wait any longer, your impatience overtakes you and you lean your head forward until the gap between you both is filled. You feel the instant softness of Shiro’s lips puckered slightly against your own, and suddenly you know. You know that after all this time, after all of the times you’d spoken, exchanged glances, trained together, after everything you’d been through. 

Shiro’s love for you had never faltered. Only grown. Only thrived. He loved you like no one else ever had. 

And you couldn’t wait to tell him that you felt the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! i probably won't continue this so that i can focus on some other works, but if prompted enough i may add a bonus chapter :)) comment if you want more ;))

**Author's Note:**

> hello fellow ao3 delvers,, thank you for reading and i do appreciate to all who is an aBso bEan and does read this. i will get better :))


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